I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"The more I think about it now, the more I miss it."

Yes, that's right.

Bai Zhou nodded in agreement.

"It's so good to have a husband like that."

"Right, right? We two really hit it off immediately!"

Meng Li put her arm around his shoulder with a beaming smile, while Du Heng watched them helplessly from the side.

■

"Qiu Hu's location is in the largest compound in the west of the city."

Lu Boyun was dressed in mourning clothes when he went to find Qiu Hu.

In his words, it was "even though I know I can't beat him, I still want to annoy him."

"What does Brother Lu want to ask him?"

"There's nothing much to ask, just check on his condition and find out about the defenses of his residence."

"After that, all we have to do is wait for him to walk right into our trap."

Lu Boyun was in a good mood at the moment, probably because he had found support and felt at ease.

"Walking into a trap?"

Bai Zhou looked at Du Meng, and the two shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.

"Let's go, Brother Bai. Before Qiu Hu falls into the water, let's see his last bit of glory."

###

Despite being called a tiger, Qiu Hu is actually a Pero.

It was only because of his superb martial arts skills and his ruthless and precise moves that his enemies gave him the name "Tiger".

Because of his love of fighting and his tendency to regard anyone who dared to anger him as a mortal enemy, he was extremely vengeful. His enemies added the word "hatred" before "tiger" to humiliate him.

But the result was that Qiu Hu not only did not die a violent death, but instead his name became more famous, which made people very angry.

"Nephew!"

"uncle!"

"Good nephew!"

"Good uncle!"

"Nephew Boyun!"

"Uncle Erhu!"

The moment the two met, it was like a warm and affectionate reunion between family members. They addressed each other as "nephew" and "uncle," showing great intimacy.

After chatting for a while, as they ate their fifth dried apricot during the day, the two finally started talking about something else.

"Nephew, what brings you to your uncle's place today?"

Qiu Hu looked very different from what Bai Zhou had imagined.

Bai Zhou had assumed he would be a square-faced man with an unremarkable appearance and a scar on his face.

In reality, Qiu Hu was tall and slender. While not particularly handsome, he wasn't repulsive either. He had no horrifying scars on his face, and a smile was always on his lips.

If an outsider met him for the first time, they might think he was a wealthy and kind man.

"In reply to Uncle, my father gave me many instructions before he passed away, telling me to keep in touch with you after he left, and not to lose our friendship."

"Alright, alright, my dear nephew, let's go inside and talk about it slowly."

Qiu Hu pulled Lu Boyun and led him into the house.

Lu Boyun glanced back at Bai Zhou and the other two, gave them a look, and the three of them silently followed.

Once inside, Qiu Hu only invited Lu Boyun to sit down, completely ignoring the three people, Bai Zhou, and others, who were following behind him.

"Chi Yu, serve the tea!"

Qiu Hu called out, seemingly calling for a maid.

"Yes, sir."

A soft, seductive voice rang out, and a maid dressed in a thin red gauze dress with a charming figure emerged from behind the screen behind Qiu Hu, carrying a pot of tea and swaying her waist as she poured tea for them.

Bai Zhou grimaced and touched the little carefree picture in his arms to barely dispel the nausea.

"Brother Bai?"

Du Heng took a step forward gently, blocking out the daylight.

"It's her, the woman who took the wrong turn."

"It was said in a low voice during the day."

Upon hearing Bai Zhou's words, Du and Meng's expressions tightened, and they secretly prepared themselves for defense.

"Where did Uncle find such an outstanding talent?"

Lu Boyun took the teacup but didn't drink it. He simply placed it on the table beside him and then praised the maid.

"A mere maidservant, how can she be considered talented? When it comes to the skills of serving others, she is nowhere near as good as the maidservants in your household, my nephew."

Qiu Hu clapped his hands, and the maid bowed slightly and went back behind the screen.

"My dear nephew, how have you been these days? I am deeply grieved by your passing, and I am filled with sorrow day and night. Whenever I think of your voice and appearance, my heart aches with unbearable pain!"

"My father's last wish was to see my uncle!"

As Lu Boyun spoke, he suddenly leaned forward and tears streamed down his face. His words were earnest and sincere, like those of a truly innocent child who respected his father and loved his uncle.

"Ugh!"

Qiu Hu quickly got up and helped Lu Boyun up, letting out a long sigh.

“How could I have imagined this! Brother Zi’an (Lu Yun’s courtesy name)! Why did you abandon me and leave us? We promised that we wouldn’t be born on the same day, month, and year, but we would die on the same day, month, and year! Brother Zi’an! I’m so sorry! I failed to protect you!”

Qiu Hu cried out, his words filled with sorrow and deeply moving.

"Uncle, my dear uncle! Where were you that day? Where were you when Father was kidnapped?"

Lu Boyun tore open the roll of paper, revealing a dagger hidden beneath it. Its cold light flashed, aimed straight at his heart!

Return to the Twenty-Eight Operas

"Uncle, it's me..."

Qiu Hu patted Lu Boyun's arm, then tore open his sleeve, revealing his arm covered in scars.

All of them are fresh wounds.

"Uncle was lured away by the thief. The opponent was very powerful and used Originium Arts that were strange and hard to understand. Uncle was trapped for a long time before he was able to escape back."

As he spoke, a sorrowful expression appeared on his face.

"But who knew that upon returning, I would receive such bad news? Had I known this would happen, Uncle would never have left Brother Zi'an's side even for a moment!"

"I see. Is Uncle alright?"

Lu Boyun nodded slightly, as if he believed Qiu Hu's words.

"It's nothing, my old bones are still pretty strong, it's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about."

Qiu Hu helped Lu Boyun sit down, completely disregarding the fact that his arm wound hadn't healed yet.

"It's good that it's hard, it's good that it's hard."

Lu Boyun wiped his face and sighed with relief.

"Speaking of which, I have some good news to share with you, Uncle."

Before Qiu Hu could answer, Lu Boyun continued:

“Since my father was murdered, I have sent people to thoroughly investigate Boyun Prefecture, determined to catch the murderer.”

"Fortunately, recently a foolish thief, arrogant and conceited, actually walked right into our trap and was captured and thrown into prison by us."

"And guess what, Uncle? Before we could even torture him, that spineless coward confessed everything. Isn't that hilarious, Uncle?"

As if he had thought of something funny, Lu Boyun burst into laughter.

“Nephew, you are truly capable. With such a talented person as you managing Boyun Prefecture, Brother Zian would surely be at peace in the afterlife.”

Qiu Hu narrowed his eyes and praised Lu Boyun with a forced smile.

"Not at all, my nephew still has much to learn and is far behind his father."

Lu Boyun replied modestly.

"That……"

Qiu Hu picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"Nephew, do you know the identity of the real culprit?"

Lu Boyun smiled and put the lid on the teacup.

“This matter must be kept secret. I’m thinking of testing this thief first. If he can’t hold back, I can close the net ahead of time. Then I will bring the thief to Uncle and interrogate him together to avenge Father.”

"Alright, alright."

Qiu Hu chuckled and agreed.

"Sigh~"

Suddenly, Lu Boyun pinched his temple, his face furrowed, and he muttered to himself.

"Nephew? Nephew? Nephew, are you feeling unwell? Your uncle has some medicine here."

Qiu Hu asked with concern.

"It's nothing, Uncle. I've just been thinking about the case a lot lately and have a bit of a headache. I'll be fine after a rest."

Lu Boyun raised his hand, and Bai Zhou quickly supported him as if he were playing the role of a servant.